247 Indonesians in Foreign Prisons Under Threat of Death Penalty

By Amie Fenia Arimbi Jakarta (Antara) - Some 247 Indonesians working abroad have been sentenced to die after being convicted of crimes they allegedly committed, said Khrisna Jaelani from the Foreign Affairs Ministry's Legal Aid and Protection of Indonesians Overseas Unit. "Of the total 247 people, 186 workers are facing the death penalty in Malaysia, 36 in Saudi Arabia, 11 in China and one in Singapore," he said here on Friday, adding that Indonesian embassies in these countries are continuously providing legal aid to its citizens. Although the highest number of Indonesians facing the death penalty is in Malaysia, it is Saudi Arabia which hosts the largest number of Indonesian workers. According to data from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, there are 4,227,383 Indonesians living abroad, with 2,536,429 employed in the informal sector. Among the destinations for Indonesian workers are Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, Singapore, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Saudi Arabia employs the largest number of Indonesian domestic workers, with 748,727. Earlier, Anis Hidayah, Executive Director of Migrant Care, called on the government to lobby Saudi Arabian authorities to prevent more Indonesian workers from receiving the death penalty. "A high level of lobbying must be conducted to save those workers from death. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must discuss this problem with the Saudi Arabian king," she said. Anis added that in protecting Indonesian workers convicted abroad, the government must also understand what occurred. "Some of the workers have killed their employers to protect themselves from abusive treatment," she said. (*)